Chapter 3: Good Girls Go to Heaven, Bad Girls Count the Money

Mi Ke had looked rough from childhood. Sloppy, unkempt-the kind of face people dismissed without a second glance.

Growing up, she'd endured cold stares, mockery, and schoolyard bullying. She'd had no friends. Even her own parents

couldn't stand the sight of her.

In nineteen years of life, she could count on one hand the number of kind looks she'd ever received.

That was why, when Song Jingyi had linked arms with her and asked, "Want to be friends?"-she'd said yes without a second

thought.

That was why, when Jiang Muye had shown her a rare shred of gentleness and respect, she'd gathered the courage to like

someone for the first time.

Faced with Jiang Muye's accusations, she'd brainwashed herself. On one side, the boy she liked. On the other, her best

friend. Wasn't it a good thing that they could be friends too? She shouldn't overthink it. She shouldn't be so petty.

But later, on Mi Ke's birthday, Jiang Muye had gotten drunk at a KTV and cuddled up against Song Jingyi on the sofa. The

two of them had sung a love song together as a duet.

He'd decided the moment was right. He couldn't hold back anymore-he confessed to Song Jingyi and revealed the real

reason he'd gotten together with Mi Ke.

Song Jingyi had slapped him hard across the face.

"Keke is my good friend! How could you do this to her?! I never want to see you again!"

And just like that, Song Jingyi had maintained her image as the righteous, kind-hearted heroine-while simultaneously

shaking off a pretty-faced lapdog.

Meanwhile, Mi Ke-reeling from the pain of being used and losing her first crush-had teared up and thanked Song Jingyi

for taking her side.

From that day forward, she never spoke of love again. She devoted herself solely to being Song Jingyi's loyal best

friend.

As if to say-

[I'm a servant girl! I'll never marry! I'll stay by my mistress's side forever, serving her!]

...

[Host: Mi Ke. Tier: Ugly Girl. Charm: 4 stars. Use balance to upgrade?]

Mi Ke had been lost in thought for too long. The system couldn't help but remind her again.

She pulled herself back, her eyes carrying a resolve unlike anything she'd felt before. "Yes."

[System converting charm value...]

[Congratulations! Upgraded to Ugly Girl 5 Stars!]

[Congratulations! Upgraded to Ugly Girl 6 Stars!]

[Congratulations! Upgraded to Ugly Girl 7 Stars!]

[Upgrade complete! Current tier: Ugly Girl 7 Stars. Balance: 712.00 yuan. Congratulations! You've earned 3 Beauty

Reward Vouchers!]

[Redeemable items: 1. Complete acne removal! 2. Skin lightening by one shade! 3. Weight reduction of 10 jin! Proceed

with redemption?]

[Note: Beauty upgrades will automatically eliminate external perception dissonance. Please upgrade with confidence!]

Mi Ke redeemed all three vouchers, one for each item.

Ten minutes later, the system notification chimed again.

[Congratulations, Host! Beauty upgrade successful!]

[Current parameters: Age 19, Height 168cm, Weight 170 jin, Skin tone: Warm red-toned Fair 1, Skin type: Combination-dry,

smooth and flawless.]

Mi Ke let out a breath of relief and immediately grabbed a mirror to examine her face.

At 180 jin, losing 10 jin didn't make a dramatic visual difference, but her face had undeniably slimmed down slightly.

The good news was that her skin tone hadn't reverted to the soy sauce tan from military training. Instead, it had gone

from her pre-tan warm red-toned Fair 2 to warm red-toned Fair 1-a normal, healthy complexion at last.

What was worth celebrating was that the ultimate endgame of a warm red skin tone was cool red-toned Fair 1. Compared to

neutral cool Fair 1 and green cool Fair 1, the warm red cool Fair 1 was the legendary porcelain complexion with a rosy

glow from within-the kind that turned heads.

In addition, every trace of acne had been erased. The pitted, cratered scars were completely smoothed over. Her overall

attractiveness had received an unexpected, dramatic boost.

Her face-once grimy, blurred, and painful to look at-was now smooth and clear, making her features stand out sharp and

clean.

The overall impression shifted from sloppy and disheveled to fresh and put-together in an instant.

If she could still be called "ugly" at this point, it was mainly because of her 170 jin frame. Everything else?

Honestly, nothing stood out as particularly offensive.

Mi Ke looked at her smooth skin and clean features in the mirror. Her pale pink lips curved upward.

Only one star away from the next tier.

But starting from the Ordinary Girl tier, each star cost 5,000 yuan. Selling WeChat contacts was too slow. She needed to

switch strategies.

Good thing she'd already hooked Jiang Muye-this particular sucker.

She opened her WeChat chat. Jiang Muye's newest message was pinned to the top.

[You took the money and now you're ghosting me? What's the plan?]

Mi Ke lowered her gaze and closed the chat. She climbed down from her bunk, unhurriedly pulled a hydrating sheet mask

from her storage box, and walked into the bathroom. She pressed the mask onto her face.

Only then did she pick up her phone again, her fingertips tapping thoughtfully on the screen.

[Tomorrow night, 7 PM. Book a table at that French restaurant on Chunhua Road. Flowers, gifts, and a confession

setup-none of them can be missing.]

Jiang Muye replied almost instantly.

[Mi Ke, are you out of your mind? I told you I don't like you. I'm not doing any of this couple stuff.]

A cold sneer tugged at Mi Ke's lips. Jiang Muye didn't just rank at the bottom among Song Jingyi's suitors in terms of

qualifications-his character and morals were equally unimpressive.

[Taste and romance are mandatory courses for men. Song Jingyi has been eyeing T brand's Smile necklace lately.]

[Now that we're together, treating my roommates to dinner is perfectly normal, right? I'm giving you a chance to prove

yourself.]

Jiang Muye took a while before replying. His response was a single character.

[Fine.]

From that one word, Mi Ke could practically picture Jiang Muye gritting his teeth.

But his teeth-grinding wasn't about the money. It was pure disdain for Mi Ke.

After all, when it came to Song Jingyi, not a single one of these lapdogs would be stingy.

[Then thanks for your hard work~]

[Boy·friend.]

The French restaurant on Chunhua Road was considered luxury for students. At 800 yuan per person, with Jiang Muye plus

her three roommates, the bill would easily exceed 4,000 yuan.

And T brand's Smile necklace in rose gold, small size, retailed around 10,000 yuan. Five thousand in upgrade funds-was

that not practically in the bag?

Mi Ke didn't actually know the specifics of Jiang Muye's family financial situation. But she knew he was a nationally

ranked swimmer-he received an athlete's stipend and earned competition bonuses.

This amount was within his means. But to maximize her upgrade funds, she needed to find the next target quickly.

Mi Ke placed her phone face-down on the sink counter. Looking at the white sheet mask barely containing her round face

in the mirror, she was still in good spirits, even humming a little tune.

After more than a decade as an ugly girl, she had a crystal-clear understanding of herself.

With her current appearance, she couldn't charm even a random NPC-much less the seven male leads circling Song Jingyi.

Since her own attributes were insufficient, in this early phase, she'd have to leverage her dear best friend and milk

her lapdogs for cash.

Consider it collecting a little interest on all those years she'd spent running herself ragged for Song Jingyi's sake.

Honestly, most girls understood the gold digger playbook perfectly well. They just disdained it. They couldn't bring

themselves to cross that moral line.

But having been reborn, Mi Ke had deleted the word "bottom line" from her dictionary entirely.

Now, her eyes held only a hunger for money and a pursuit of devastating beauty.

Good girls go to heaven. Bad girls count the money.